Kamala Harris Killed It. Then Taylor Swift Endorsed Her. Now I Think It’s Over.

On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling horrified and sick.

There was a time when I was excited about the idea of ​​a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and disgraced former President Donald Trump. I was excited to hear her speak in July. Direct Challenge Trump: “If you have something to say, Donald, say it to my face.”

But watching the Washington media lower the bar for Trump time and time again, by Monday night I was beginning to worry that all Trump needed to win was to not use the N-word or the C-word. That may be extreme, but it’s not that extreme. All Trump had to do was not to become a yelling, racist, misogynist lunatic. The question was: “Can Trump control himself?” One The New York Times Preview.

Harris, on the other hand, needs to introduce herself to the public, demonstrate her policy skills, and be likeable (but not approval-hungry) and not aggressive, but not too aggressive (think Fox News dog whistle “Angry Black Woman!”).

In his first debate with Biden, the crumbling criminal proved he could keep his cool, pundits said at length. But Biden did so much damage to himself that Trump didn’t need to ruffle his shellac-covered hair to win. And yet, many said that would be enough to beat Harris. He can do it. You can almost hear them saying: He’s got it. Probably. Do it.

By game day, it felt like Trump couldn’t lose and Harris couldn’t win because mainstream political reporters, like sports reporters, mostly cover their areas of expertise.

But he lost. Even Fox News acknowledged it.

“She was well prepared. She kept her cool. She saw an advantage and she used it. She seduced him. That’s the story of the debate, in my opinion. So, there’s no question, in my opinion, that she won the debate.”

That was Brit Hume from Fox.

Around the same time, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, writing to her 283 million followers: On Instagram“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because I believe she is fighting for rights and causes that we need warriors to defend,” she wrote. The endorsement was accompanied by a photo of her holding her cat, Benjamin Button, which she signed “Childless Cat Lady.”

I was hoping Harris would win on her policy skills, and I felt that way throughout the debate, but the media has largely ignored her policy program and focused too much on the price of bacon and cereal.

But what I never imagined was that even right-wing cable news would acknowledge that Trump screwed up despite behaving as he always does.

You will wake up feeling better on Wednesday morning.